When I was a young girl, I wanted a Pen Pal. Someone who lived in another country and who could share cultural differences, ideas, dreams, and the synergy that comes when two Great Minds think alike. So for a while, I communicated with another little 8 year old girl who lived in Africa ~ determined to make a difference by at least sending a few of my unworn lace dresses to take the place of her tattered one.Unfortunately, other than a badly damaged photo of my shy, intangible friend, our slow postal services and distance proved to be a serious obstacle to gaining any ground as far as a long term friendship was concerned. So I mentally bid little Luciana farewell ~ but not without a silent pledge to one day know many other Luciana's of the world.
In fact, my fantasy was that if every child in America could have an African child delivered on their doorstep complete with its own instruction booklet for proper feeding and caring ~ we would have no more world hunger. Oh, the simplicity of it all!!!!
Denise Lacayo and I met over 18 months ago, (and 40 years after my last Pen Pal) when I was searching for a Creative Director for Back To The Tap. I knew it was essential to have someone young, trendy, knowledgeable of e-commerce, and most of all - as quirky and creative as I am.
Somewhere, in one of those vast virtual employment networks from India, we stumbled onto each other and were immediately smitten. Denise found the concept of Back To The Tap to be as intriguing as I, and wholeheartedly understood the importance of this movement to minimize global plastic waste through a Sports Bottle System that could Filter as you Drink.
Somewhere, in one of those vast virtual employment networks from India, we stumbled onto each other and were immediately smitten. Denise found the concept of Back To The Tap to be as intriguing as I, and wholeheartedly understood the importance of this movement to minimize global plastic waste through a Sports Bottle System that could Filter as you Drink.
I also have to admit a certain relief that she could answer the inevitable question: Do you like Curry? And quickly found I had hit on a goldmine when Denise admitted she did not live in India ~ but actually had a firm based in Florida. Which meant, normal working hours for the Back To The Tap website development process. Perfect!
From that moment on, the flurry of images, ideas, text, editing, more text, more editing, more photos, more ideas, and more changes began. We phoned each other constantly, and what at first appeared to be a language barrier ~ Denise is from Ecuador originally ~ and I from the United States ~we quickly learned that the unspoken language of creativity ~ and the more ancient art of our own women archetypical inheritances ~ quickly surpassed any perceived obstacles.
We often prayed for the success of Back To The Tap, as well as for our individual families, our loyal, loving and understanding husbands, (who continue to wait patiently for our return from these enlightened paths) and for insight into the world of big business. Sharing our knowledge ~ and always laughing like two schoolgirls, before we hung up the phone.
Denise was a brand new mom with a two month old child when we met. I would hear his quiet coos late into the night, as she would rock the baby on her lap without missing a beat while we discussed the important movement of Back To The Tap. I knew that together, we were making a contribution that was more global than we knew and will someday benefit those babies who deserve to have a green sustainable earth.
Her two beautiful boys: Dega and Dante, have grown quickly into toddlers now - their voices maturing into young little replicas of Denise's raspy quiet tones. The youngest baby has acquired a new vocabulary that includes the words: "Hi Faith!", as some of his first.
The African children I longed to care for our now as real as ever ~ as the Back To The Tap Campaign plans to offer proceeds from its sales to help those without safe drinking water.
Unfortunately , the global efforts that were needed in the sixties seem much closer to home as we discover the children in areas of our own country that are in desperate need of help for both proper drinking water and poverty issues.
The valuable conservation efforts and cost effective solutions of Back To The Tap are becoming apparent as the Campaign continues to be a magnet for the media ~ hungry for the ideas of those of us who have simply envisioned these pressing enviromental issues a little earlier than some.
We environmentalists are only too aware that along with that vision , comes the responsibility of providing tangible solutions that must be left behind for the next generation. Juggling our families, our friends, our spiritual growth, our budgets, along with our own physical and mental health becomes a reluctantly lesser priority, as future thinkers band together and furiously combine our talents to the tune of an oblivious ticking universal clock that does not heed the urgency that we know.
My friend Denise of DL Designs is the best Pen Pal I could ever have hoped for. She is someone who brings knowledge from another country and who can share cultural differences, ideas, dreams, and the synergy that comes when two Great Minds think alike.
Denise is a shining example of how creativity and compassion can be united within a joint passion that is bound to provide a universal need. I am thankful for her presence in my life and with luck this summer, will be joyfully looking forward to officially meeting the face behind the soul.
Whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name....there is love.
